Australian down under

MELBOURNE, January 21 

Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov kept cool in the Rod Laver Arena maelstrom to knock home favourite Nick Kyrgios out of the Australian Open in a fourth-round thriller on Sunday. Third seed Dimitrov absorbed 76 winners and struck 64 of his own to edge a scintillating duel 7-6(3) 7-6(4) 4-6 7-6(4).

While Australia’s wait for a men’s champion will now stretch to 43 years, Dimitrov will go into a quarterfinal with unseeded British player Kyle Edmund brimming with belief that a first Grand Slam title is within reach.

The 26-year-old showed enormous resilience and nerve to subdue a ferocious Kyrgios fightback, claiming victory after three hours and 26 minutes with a majestic forehand pass.

As the combatants embraced, Kyrgios told Dimitrov to “believe” before the defeated 22-year-old left to a standing ovation. A year ago it was jeers after a second-round meltdown. “Playing against Nick is always tricky,” Dimitrov told former champion Jim Courier on court. “He was serving unbelievable. Playing unbelievable. Competing. He deserves a lot of credit. He fought really hard and it’s one of the matches you have to be locked in.” 

Kyrgios did little wrong and said the match had been decided by the odd point here and there. “I lost tonight to one of the best players in the world. Went down swinging,” he said.

The prime-time clash crackled with intensity from the get-go with Dimitrov’s elegant style contrasting with the explosive shot-making of maverick 17th seed Kyrgios.

“Oh Nicky you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind” chanted the gold and green clad fans in a Davis Cup atmosphere. Even the seagulls perched on the roof appeared transfixed on the drama unfolding below.

While Kyrgios’s histrionics are well chronicled, all the talk this past week has been the fact that he appears ready to fulfil his vast potential, especially after a superb victory over his idol Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Round 3.

Dimitrov, who won the ATP Finals last year, had to play high-octane tennis to edge an intense opener in a tiebreak.

Kyrgios’s only lapse arrived at 3-3 in the second set when he bunted a backhand long to hand Dimitrov a break point and then casually messed up a volley. For a few minutes it seemed Kyrgios might unravel but his growing maturity was evident as he re-grouped and seized on a tight service game by Dimitrov at 5-4, saving a set point, before breaking back to huge roars from the crowd. — Reuters

Nadal defuses pocket rocket Schwartzman

Top seed Rafa Nadal was rattled by a feisty challenge from Diego Schwartzman but held firm to fend off the diminutive Argentine 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 and reach his 10th Australian Open quarterfinal on Sunday. In an often breathtaking clash laden with sumptuous shot-making, the Spaniard was rocked by the hard-hitting Schwartzman who broke him three times to claim the second set at Rod Laver Arena. But the 16-time Grand Slam champion responded with typical grit, bolstering his defence to blanket the 24th seed’s firepower and counter-punching brilliantly to book a match with Marin Cilic. 

Cilic’s century

100 Grand Slam wins for former US Open champion Marin Cilic, who beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-7(2) 6-3 7-6(0) 7-6(3) in an entertaining baseline duel.

Svitolina races past Allertova

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina firmed as a strong contender for the title with a ruthless 6-3 6-0 demolition of Czech qualifier Denisa Allertova in the early hours of Monday morning. The 23-year-old fourth seed, one of four players who could leave Melbourne Park as world No. 1, needed only 57 minutes to book her place in the quarterfinals. Now riding a nine-match winning streak, Svitolina will next meet Belgian world No. 37 Elise Mertens for a place in what would be a maiden Grand Slam semifinal.

Wozniacki gallops into quarters

Second seed Caroline Wozniacki needed only a shade over an hour to book a quarterfinal spot as she thrashed Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3 6-0. The Dane dropped a mere six points in the second set as she overwhelmed her 19th-seeded opponent to reach the last eight here for the first time since 2012. Rybarikova actually gained the first break of serve in the third game but Wozniacki soon settled into her rhythm and broke back immediately before taking control. Such was Wozniacki’s confidence, she even produced a between-the-legs ‘tweener’ during the first set and although it did not win her the point it summed up her mood.

Paes-Raja crash out but Bops advances

Leander Paes and Purav Raja crashed out after a 6-1 6-2 defeat against 11th seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the men’s doubles pre-quarters. Rohan Bopanna and Timea Babos beat Andrew Whittington and Ellen Perez 6-2 6-4 in the mixed doubles first round.

Key matches on Monday

Madison Keys vs Caroline Garcia; Hsieh Su-wei vs Angelique Kerber; Barbora Strycova vs Karolina Pliskova; Simona Halep vs Naomi Osaka; 

Marton Fucsovics vs Roger Federer; Novak Djokovic vs Chung Hyeon; Fabio Fognini vs Tomas Berdych; Dominic Thiem vs Tennys Sandgren